Re-considering the linkage between the antecedents and consequences of happiness

Abstract

A growing number of studies examine the antecedents of happiness but only a handful of them appear to undertake an analysis of its consequences. Employing a unique cross-sectional data set of 413 adults, we examine the relationship of the antecedents of happiness on its outcomes via mediation analysis. We show that the web of relations in this domain is more complicated than it is commonly understood. We provide empirical evidence that income enhances individuals’ life satisfaction. We also find a non-linearity in the relation of age to frugality and to attitude towards debt. Whereas a positive relationship exists between employment and frugality, income negatively affects frugality. We find strong evidence to suggest that life satisfaction reverses the relationships of employment and income to frugality. Additionally, we obtained empirical evidence to suggest that employment, income and sex positively affect attitude towards debt. Furthermore, we provide empirical evidence that the relationships of age and income to attitude towards debt are complementarily mediated by frugality while frugality competitively mediates the relationship of employment to attitude towards debt. Finally, the results reveal that there exists an indirect-only effect of life satisfaction to attitudes towards debt through frugality.